La farmacia è alla destra del museo.

to be

Breakdown of La farmacia è alla destra del museo.

• del: of
• il museo: the museum
• alla: to the

Questions & Answers about La farmacia è alla destra del museo.

Why is there a la in La farmacia? In English we often just say pharmacy.

In Italian, the definite article is used more often than in English.

So La farmacia means the pharmacy. In a sentence like this, Italian normally includes the article before the noun.

• la farmacia = the pharmacy
• il museo = the museum

If you said just Farmacia by itself, that would usually sound incomplete in this kind of statement, unless it were a label or sign.

What does è mean, and why does it have an accent?

È means is.

It is the third-person singular of the verb essere (to be):

• io sono = I am
• tu sei = you are
• lui/lei è = he/she is

The accent is important because:

• è = is
• e = and

So the accent helps distinguish two different words.

Why do we say alla destra?